What small birds are you referring to and, more importantly, why would you possibly want to shoot them?

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I had a memory failure. This thread started a year ago, and I was thinking that the OP was asking about an airgun to use on squirrels and birds. In fact, it was squirrels and chipmunks. I thought the gun pictured above was a bit of overkill (pardon the pun) for the critters the OP wanted to eradicate-chipmunks, not little birds.

FWIW, some people (not me) apparently have problems with grackles, starlings, etc. and use airguns to eliminate them. In this hobby, people kill everything from flies and grasshoppers to wild pigs with air rifles. This thread has already gone too far afield, so I won't debate you on the ethics or humanity of killing things, big or small.

I had a memory failure. This thread started a year ago, and I was thinking that the OP was asking about an airgun to use on squirrels and birds. In fact, it was squirrels and chipmunks. I thought the gun pictured above was a bit of overkill (pardon the pun) for the critters the OP wanted to eradicate-chipmunks, not little birds.

FWIW, some people (not me) apparently have problems with grackles, starlings, etc. and use airguns to eliminate them. In this hobby, people kill everything from flies and grasshoppers to wild pigs with air rifles. This thread has already gone too far afield, so I won't debate you on the ethics or humanity of killing things, big or small.

A friend loaned my his Daystate Huntsman and a 4500 psi bottle for the weekend. Here's my first 10 shot group at 35 yards. This thing is amazing. It's got me thinking about buying a PCP - maybe a Benjamin Marauder.

That's a good characterization - it's so easy to shoot well. I bought a cheap .177 springer to cure a ground squirrel infestation and even accounting for the special hold springers require it's just not up to the job. Maybe a higher dollar one would. That's what's got me thinking PCP. I'd also like my son to be able to practice offhand shooting with a sling to prepare for squirrel season with a rimfire. Something like a Marauder would allow him to practice in the back yard and its heavier so if he can get good at shooting it offhand a rimfire .22 will be a piece of cake.

This morning, I was trying to rid our yard of a chipmunk. It posed perfectly on a feeder. Got my airgun, cocked it, dropped the pellet on the floor, bent over to retrieve pellet, the barrel moved up a little and back into the cocked position and now it is stuck there. The barrel is locked open and at the fully cocked position, I have no idea how to unlock it. Asking around, it sounds like it might not be safe to take apart, as the spring is under pressure.

Anyone have any ideas??? It is an EAA MP-513M, a Russian import. I have googled around and have not found a similar issue. This is the 2nd time it happened, the 1st was with the 1st pellet I tried to shoot. The local gun store sent it back to EAA. When it came back, he said, "Don't do that again, because they will charge shop rates to fix it."

I'd be very wary of stripping it while the springs compressed. How powerful is it? You could put it in a vice and slowly unscrew it but when it finally goes off you better be clear, it's going to send the spring and rear section flying. It also depends what's wrong (obviously), trigger, piston, washer, or the safety catch system. Without a slow release of the spring it could rip something apart.

I paid $150 for it from a local gun shop. The owner had ordered it for another customer, customer picked it up, drove home and had a heart attack in his garage and died. The gun shop guy told the widow if he sold it, he would give her all the money. Turned out, I had delivered to the PO, so I bought it.

"Anti back lash (ratchet mechanism that is engaged during cocking so the barrel is prevented from closing until fully cocked) Anti-return ( If trigger is pulled when the gun is partially cocked this prevents the barrel from uncontrolled closure) Manual hammer that must be moved to it=s rear position and locked before the gun will fire, even if the gas system is cocked".

What happened both times is I cocked the gun, went to load it and the barrel fell past the 1st click or detent. Once it got past that, it would only go down, not up. Once at the very bottom of the stroke, it is locked down with very little play.

Taking it apart seems like a sure way to completely poke an eye out. I was hoping there was a safety release or some reset that I over-looked or someone smarter than I knows about.